Man’s Life Sentence For Trying To Steal Hedge Clippers Upheld By State Supreme Court

The Louisiana Supreme Court voted not to review the life sentence of a Black man who was convicted in 1997 for attempting to steal a pair of hedge clippers.

Supreme Court of Louisiana building | Paul J. Richards/ AFP via Getty Images
Supreme Court of Louisiana building | Paul J. Richards/ AFP via Getty Images

The Louisiana Supreme Court has denied a request to review the case of a Black man who was sentenced to life in prison over 20 years ago for attempting to steal a pair of hedge clippers.

In 1997, Fair Wayne Bryant, then 38, was convicted of attempted simple burglary of an inhabited dwelling after attempting to steal hedge clippers from a family home in Shreveport, LA. Prosecutors at the time filed a habitual offender bill against Bryant, who is now 62, citing his past convictions, which ultimately led to a judge sentencing Bryant to life in prison.

On July 31, five white Supreme Court judges denied Bryant’s request to review the case and did not explain their decision. Chief Justice Bernette Joshua Johnson, a Black woman, was the sole dissenter. In her approval to review the case, Johnson wrote that Bryant’s sentence was “excessive and disproportionate to the offense the defendant committed.”

At the time of his 1997 trial, Bryant had four prior convictions. He pleaded guilty to an attempted armed robbery charge in 1979, which was his only violent offense. He was also convicted of possession of stolen things in 1987, attempted forgery of a check in 1989, and simple burglary of an inhabited dwelling in 1992.

Johnson wrote in her dissent that offenses such as stealing and burglary are typically driven by poverty, addiction, or both.

She added that delivering a life sentence for petty theft upholds what are known as “pig laws.” Such laws come from systemically racist practices following Reconstruction and the emancipation of enslaved people after the Civil War, she wrote.

“Southern states criminalized recently emancipated African American citizens by introducing extreme sentences for petty theft associated with poverty,” Johnson wrote. “And this case demonstrates their modern manifestation: harsh habitual offender laws that permit a life sentence for a Black man convicted of property crimes”

Johnson also noted that since Bryant was imprisoned in 1997, his incarceration has cost state taxpayers more than $518,000. If he lives another 20 years, that cost will surpass $1 million, she wrote.

“This man’s life sentence for a failed attempt to steal a set of 3 hedge clippers is grossly out of proportion to the crime and serves no legitimate penal purpose,” Johnson continued.

According to a report by The Lens, there is no word on what legal course of action Bryant will be able to take next.